Zucchini Lasagna With Beef. Hey Guys! Happy weekend! So for the past few weeks, I haven’t been eating very healthy. It’s not terrible, like fast food every day or anything like that, but just like, a lot of bread and Mexican food.
Oops. I realized this while I was running the other day, and it was just taking a lot of effort. Like, I felt like I was running against a brick wall. “What is the deal?” I asked myself. “It’s because your body is currently 65 PERCENT BREAD AND CHEESE. THAT’S WHY,” I responded.
Since then, I have been trying to get it together, but it’s been a slow process. For example, Saturday night, I made a cheese plate for dinner, and then today was the first time I’ve exercised in a while, but I accidentally closed my Nike Training app in the middle of my workout and was going to have to start over, so I just took that as a sign that it was time to watch my favorite series. I am committed.
A few weeks ago, before the bread and cheese diet commenced, I came up with this delicious recipe for zucchini lasagna with beef! Lasagna is one of my all-time favorites, but I never make it because it would take me weeks to eat an entire pan of it by myself.
I’ve made it before when I invite people over, but sometimes I just want it for myself! I originally planned to make traditional lasagna in a loaf pan, but then I decided to get creative. I’m a big fan of this Zucchini Lasagna With Beef recipe and will probably be making it often- it’s a lot easier than you think!
Extraordinary Zucchini Lasagna With Beef In A Loaf Pan
Ingredients
- ½ pound ground beef (minced beef)
- 2 cups Marinara sauce (tomatoes, garlic, herbs, and onions – pasta sauce in southern hemisphere for Italian seafood dish) - I just bought a jar from Trader Joe’s!
- 1 large zucchini - we will chat on how to cut this in a moment
- ¾ cup ricotta cheese
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese
- 1-2 tablespoon Italian herbs (oregano, rosemary, thyme, and sometimes basil and parsley) - I use a McCormick grinder, but if you don’t have that, I would suggest garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, and dried basil!
- ½ cup spinach
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese - for the top
Instructions
- First, brown the ground beef and drain the grease. I actually bought a whole pound and cooked it all but saved the other half for another recipe!
- Mix together the ricotta, Parmesan, and Italian seasonings in a small bowl.
- Next, slice the zucchini. If you want long slices, I would suggest using a mandolin. If you don’t have a mandolin, I would suggest cutting it into small rounds! It won’t exactly be “lasagna noodles”, but it still tastes like it!
- Then you may assemble! I started by spooning a little sauce on the bottom of a loaf pan. Then, I added zucchini, ricotta, meat, spinach, and then more sauce. Repeat until you’re out of ingredients! I would also suggest layering the zucchini fairly thick-otherwise they’re just floating around in there.
- Bake at 350°F for 35-40 minutes or until bubbly! Then, add the remaining Parmesan cheese to the top and pop it back in for another 5 minutes to melt. Just so you know, it’s a little…soupy. I think it’s because the zucchini has so much moisture in it. As long as the zucchini is cooked all the way through, it should be fine!
It’s nice work.